New Future, Old Scars
by MoonLight Gamer
Summary: A unicorn is remembering his past. How he got to where he is today. A pony who can breath magical fire, fly, and has senses that can rival a gods. This is the story of Moonlight, a dragon/pony hybrid facing Equestria proudly. I do not own MLP:FiM, Hasbro does. I'm not very good at summaries, so at least give the story a shot!
1. How It All Began

**A/N – Sup my peoples! Moonlight Gamer here, giving you the past of my OC's Moonlight and Saphira! Also, if you already got to the Chapter Portal in my fanfic "Destiny" (Which you should read) then you want to go back and see the changes I made to Moonlight, as I got a better vision of him lately. Also, I'm trying a new writing style. It's still similar, but with some minor tweaks. That's all I really got to say, so later! Stay a Boss, Moonlight Gamer- End A/N**

**Palace balcony, Midnight (3rd P.O.V)**

In the dead of the night, a dark blue unicorn colt walked to the edge of the balcony, and put his front hooves on the railing, gazing at the stars with his piercing red, draconic eyes. He had wild, unruly red hair with black "blades" at the edges, and a tail to match. His cutie mark was a white shield, with a black kunai. He had dark scars on his lower legs, and burn marks that flamed beside them. He had excess fur on his hooves, to hide the glint of claws. His pointed ears flipped to the side when he heard somepony coming. He turned and smiled.

"Hey Saphira. How are you?"

"Fine. You?" Replied the maroon Pegasus pony. She had a light blue mane and tail, with darker blue lines running through each, and teal eyes a little darker than her hair. She had a cutie mark of a white infinity symbol, but rather than two circles, it was two hearts, connecting at the bottom point. Moonlight still remembered what she said when she got it all those years ago;

_I believe it means forever, because I'll stay with and love you forever, as long as I live and then some. _

He smiled as he thought of the better parts of the past, bittersweet memories washing over him like a cool Autumn breeze. "Alright, just thinking about the past, how we came to the present." He said. "Just remembering what happened the day you came into my life and then- forth."

He let a tear drop to the ground far below as he envisioned that very day, remembering it as vividly as if it happened yesterday.

**Many years ago, schoolyard (Moonlight P.O.V)**

"Loser! You're just some wannabe hybrid, why don't you leave the rest of us _normal _ponies alone!" Said Stone Bash, the local playground bully. His words stung me, just reminding me that I wasn't normal. It wasn't my fault that his mother was raped by a dragon, or that they didn't have the bits to get an abortion. No, Celestia damn him, the dragon-pony hybrid. Outcast by all, all but himself, but only just. "You don't belong here!" That was the line he always ended with, and this time was no exception. He then walked away with his two goons, laughing at my misery.

"Why… why did it have to be me, or anypony for that matter?" I whispered to myself. It simply burned to be the one with no friends, and nopony who he had to love, or to love him. He had his parents, but they always saw him as a mistake.

"C'mon my little ponies, recess is over! Time to get back to class!" Said Mrs. Sketch, the teacher of the small, one room red schoolhouse. There was no reason to have it any larger than it is, as the town is too small to be mentioned, even on the maps that weren't made here, there were just plains where the town was meant to be. I got of the swing I was rocking lazily on, and trotted to the door that the door the teacher was holding open after everypony else had already gone in.

**After School (Moonlight P.O.V)**

"Goodbye class, see you tomorrow!" Mrs. Sketch said, when the bell atop the school rang, signaling the end of the day. Everypony ran out the door, while I just walked with my head down and ears flat against my head. I looked towards the dirt road I always trotted down to get home, but as I began to walk that way, something compelled me to take the more scenic route, which took about another ten minutes to get me home. I walked that way though, knowing that my parents wouldn't care when he got home. I made it about five minutes in though, when I heard somepony started whimpering in an alley between two old abandoned stores.

"Help…help me…" I perked my ears, hearing the voice. It belonged to a filly, which made me narrow my eyes. The alley was about five feet in front of me, so I trotted up and pecked into the alley, and saw something horrible.

Stone Bash and his goons were in front of a maroon filly, throwing nearby trash at her and laughing. I began to get mad, but what really set me off was when the filly began to get up, but Stone turned and bucked her in the chest, launching her into the brick wall behind her. I narrowed my eyes even more.

"Hey stone!" I yelled, and he turned.

"Hey look guys, it's the _Hybrid!" _He replied, dragging out the 'hybrid'.

What do you think you're doing? What did she do to you?"

"Huh, why do you care? Why don't you run back to the cave where you belong!?" He turned back to the filly and spit on her.

That's when I snapped. I got down on my haunch, preparing to jump. "I can take it, but I don't like it when you abuse fillies." He looked back at me again.

"What are you going to do about it? Do you think you can take me? Bring it!"

I smirked. Hidden dragon-like wings edged with black appeared out of my back, as they weren't there before. I let out a huff of black fire. "Alright, but only because you asked nicely!"

I launched myself at him, using my wings as a boost to go even faster. Stone's goons jumped out of the way as Stone went wide-eyed before I rammed into him, launching him into the wall behind him. The filly scooted into the corner, watching Stone as he got up, and charged at me. I just side-stepped, turned, and bucked him in the side, which sent him flying again. This time he got up quickly, fear in his eyes. I finally let the rest of my anger of him out in a jet of black magical flames, which hit is face, chest, and his front upper-legs. He let out a yelp, and started running away, leaving me and the filly alone. I looked at her, and finally got a good look of her. I realized that I recognized her as a filly in my class. She sat in the back row, opposite corner of where I sit.

She got up of the ground and brushed some of the thrown garbage off of herself. She looked at me, and I saw her beautiful teal eyes.

"Uh, thanks." She said, pulling my attention from her mesmerizing eyes. "I'm... I'm Saphira."

"Yeah, sure thing." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck like I do when I'm nervous. "My name is Moonlight. Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Ye-yeah, I'm good. Why did you save me?"

"Because I don't like bullies, or when fillies are being hurt."

"Fair enough. Hey, why didn't the flame you hit Stone with burn him? I didn't see any marks." She stole a quick glance at my wings before I put them away, melting them back into my coat.

"The black flame? It's magical, so it hurts more than it should, and doesn't physically harm the body. I have other flames, and probably some I haven't learned yet."

I Looked at her legs and noticed a large gash where she hit the wall on her back right leg. "You're hurt. Here, let me try something. And don't worry, it won't hurt."

I Walked beside her, and got a closer look. It wasn't very deep, but I could tell it stung. I lowered my head and blew a white flame at the gash. She jumped at the sensation, and took a step away from me. I looked up at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked, shock noticeable in her voice.

"Don't worry, I'm only helping." I bent down and blew the white flame again. She tensed, but didn't move. Quickly, the red cut shrank as it closed, then disappeared. She looked amazed.

"How...?" She asked.

"It's magic, like my horn, but in the form of a flame. My white flame can heal wounds."

"That's, that's amazing. What other flames do you have?" She asked, walking beside me out of the ally and to the left, to our homes. She got a little closer to me, and rested her head on my neck. I tensed, but relaxed again when she let out a small sigh.

"You know, I think this is the closest somepony has gotten to me without wanting to hurt or harass me." I said, also letting out a sigh as I felt her warm breath hit my neck. She was slightly shorter than me, so her head only just reached the bottom of mine.

"What do you mean?"

"Most ponies don't like me, 'cause I'm part dragon. It's not my fault, but they don't seem to care." She gasped.

"_That _explains it I was wondering why you could breathe fire, and why you had hidden wings and eyes like that. That's so cool!" I raised an eyebrow, amazed at both her reaction, and her acceptance.

"You mean… you're not afraid of me, or hate me?"

"Why would I hate you? Your so cool! Can I see your wings again?"

I was really starting to like her. She's spontaneous, ready to ask anything, and just fun to be around. I smiled and spread my wings for her. They spread out of my back, my right wing stretching over her by about an inch. She moved away and spread her wings, and grunted.

"Aww, you have a bigger wingspan. No fair!" She pouted a moment, before smiling and giggling. "You know, your wings _are _pretty big. I wonder… can they wrap around me?" She got even closer, her side touching mine. the hint, I wrapped her in my right wing. She sighed again. We walked like that for a while, until she stopped me.

"Well, this is my place. What do you think?" I looked at it, then down the street. "Well, isn't that cool? I live right down the block from you." I pointed with my hoof at the house on the other side of the street, 3 houses away. She looked around my body, which still held her in a soft hold with my wing.

"Huh, I never noticed you before. I'm guessing you take the faster route?" I nodded, and she slipped out from under my wing. I gave a sad sigh, and hid my wings again. She giggled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. My face exploded in heat, and she giggled again when she saw me blushing. She turned to her house.

"Goodnight Moonlight. See you tomorrow!" She trotted up to her door, and I stood there like an idiot for a moment, then walked towards my house, a stupid grin on my face.

**After school, a month later**

I was walking with Saphira out of the schoolhouse, after everypony else nearly broke the door trying to squeeze through. We took the scenic route as we have in the past month. It's been amazing since I helped her. Stone stopped messing with me, I've been able to relax more, and seeing Saphira with me, my other schoolmates were able to open up to me a little more. A few minutes into the walk though, she stopped me. I looked down to her.

"Why are we stopping?"

"Because, I want to show you something I found a week ago. Follow me!" She galloped away from me, through a path to the right. I followed as we began to go up at a slant, a few large trees blocking my view of my other surroundings. We turned a few times, jumping over large rocks jutting out of the uneven ground. A few yards in front of me, Saphira turned her head, still running.

"C'mon! Were almost there!" She then started running even faster, causing me to let out a huff and do my best to follow. She turned a few more corners and I realized we were heading to a nearby forest. More specifically a mountain near our edge. We weren't too far from the town, but I still wasn't sure about this. I swallowed my doubts though as we reached a clearing near the base of the mountain. I then stretched out my wings and flew up to reach her quicker. I made it beside her, but I was too busy trying to reach her to see the mountainside that was in front of me, and hit it head-first, then proceeding to have my body leave a pony-shaped implant in the hard dirt. I slide down, coming to rest beside Saphira, who was rolling on the ground laughing. I had to chuckle to though. I would probably do the same thing if I saw it. She laughed another moment before getting up, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"Alright, were here."

I looked at what she was looking, and saw a bush. "A bush?"

"No, it's _behind_ the bush. Check this out.!" She walked up to the bush and pushed the leaves aside, to reveal a tunnel into the mountainside. Without a word, she began crawling through the tunnel. Without another choice, I followed.

It took a minute, but we reached the end, and saw what was one of the most amazing things in Equestria. We were in a blue cave, with a crystal clear pond in front of us. There were gems sticking out of the walls, glowing different colors. There was blue, light green, magenta, teal, and a few others I couldn't name. There were even gems in the water, the light reverberating of the reflective surface, creating a sort of ring effect around them. The glowed and pulsed, and was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I looked at Saphira, her teal eyes sparkling in the glow.

"What is this? It's beautiful."

I don't know. I just found it when I came out here to practice my flying. Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

"No, it's not." She got ready to object, but I stopped her. "Let me finish. This is not the most beautiful thing I've seen. You are." Her eyes widened as I said that. My hoof fell away from her mouth to show a soft smile beneath. Her eyes began to tear as she hugged me, her warm body pressing with mine before she pulled away, and buried her mouth on my own. My eyes widened as her lips pressed mine, her body still pressing me against the blue floor. The kiss was deep, sensual, showing each other something before we said it. She pulled away, showing her blush. We knew what was happening, how young we were, but it didn't matter. It happened, and we spoke our thoughts simultaneously;

"I love you."

Her flank began to glow, before flashing. She turned to look at her flank and, and gasped. She had her cutie mark. I looked and saw what it was. A white infinity symbol, but made by two hearts connected at the bottom point. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What does it mean?"

"I believe it means forever, because I'll stay with and love you forever, as long as I live and then some." I looked at her, still smiling at her beautiful words, and hugged her. I just hugged her, and she hugged back. We were stopped though, by a sort of drilling sound to our left. We turned, and saw the crystals rising, forming a sort of beast. Our eyes widened, as we watched a sort of dog-creature rise out of the ground, seemingly made of crystals. At first I thought it was a diamond dog, but then I remembered that they weren't made of actual diamonds, or any crystal for that matter. No, this was something much worse. It watched us, before speaking in a raspy voice;

"What are you doing in my home? I do not like trespassers." I let go of Saphira, standing in front of her, protectively.

"We are sorry, we had believed that this cove was empty. We did not mean to bother you."

"Does it seem like I care? No, it doesn't. Again, you are trespassers. And do you know what I do to trespassers?"

I gulped. "I don't believe we want to find out. We don't want to fight, we can leave peacefully."

He said nothing, but disappeared in the ground beneath him. I stared at where he was, before I heard a noise behind me, and Saphira's voice following it,

"Moonlight, help!" i turned, and the beast had her in a chokehold. I could see in her eyes that she was scared, and that set me off. My eyes narrowed, and wings spread.

"Don't touch her! I tried to leave peacefully, but I will fight if I have to." He just laughed.

"You? Harm me? That is ridiculous! Besides, you wouldn't dare try to attack me while I have her!" He was right, I wouldn't attack him while he used Saphira as a meat shield. I examined him though, and saw that I wouldn't be able to harm him anyways. He was made of crystal, so my hooves wouldn't hurt him. And my fires were to widespread, they would hit Saphira. Like everything else though, he did have a weak spot. His eyes were unprotected, vulnerable. I was wondering how I would get to them, until I saw his grip tighten. I felt a rage inside me, and an idea pop into my head. I zoned in on his eyes, took a breath, locked on, and let loose a bolt of thin, green flames that hit its mark. He dropped Saphira, and held his eyes while backing away. He tripped and fell into the water, disappearing. Saphira stare at me, then my flank. I felt a warmth, and looked back just in time to see the flash, which revealed my cutie mark. It was a black kunai, on top of a white shield. Saphira walked up to me and examined it.

"What does it symbolize?" I asked, curious.

She smiled. "I think it means that you will protect your friends. Peacefully if you can, like how you tried to reason with the beast, but you will fight to protect, like you did with me." She brought her head back in front of mine, and gave me another kiss. "Thank you, for saving me." She hugged me, and I returned the favor. We stayed like that, eyes closed, not moving.

We were all there was in the universe for a moment, thinking the same thoughts, feeling he same things. And knowing one thing of the future.

_This is going to work out._

**A week later**

I was walking down the street, a bouquet of flowers in my mouth and a small box in the paper holding the bouquet. It was her birthday, and I wanted to make it special. I walked up the two steps leading to her door, and knocked. The door creaked open at the touch. I raised an eyebrow, but decided that she probably left the door open a bit. I walked in, and went upstairs to her room. Her door was open slightly, showing her bed, which was empty. I walked in, bouquet of flowers still in my mouth.

"Haffy Birfda-" I stopped, dropping the flowers in shock. The box rolled out and opened, revealing a white gold necklace with her cutie mark on it. She was on the ground… and wasn't breathing. I ran right to her side, falling to the ground next to her.

"Saphira!" I didn't know what to do. I didn't know CPR, or anything that would be of use in this situation. That was when I heard the door open downstairs. I heard a filly call up.

"Saphira! Happy Birthday, we're here! Let's get this party started!" It was her other friends, here for her birthday party. I heard them coming up the stairs, with another, older pony noticeable in the steps.

"C'mon, let's get started!" I recognized it as Surprise, a white pony with a poofy blond mane. She was the local party planner. They walked through the door, and stopped all at once. I turned to see them, and I knew exactly what they thought they were seeing. A dragon/pony hybrid, thought to be dangerous, over a lifeless body. Surprise's normally poofy mane and tail flattened, and she looked devastated. The rest stared at the body, then me, then the body again.

"I...I didn't..." I tried to explain, but it was no use. They wouldn't believe me at all. I wasted no time jumping out of the window, tears stinging my eyes as I ran home, ready to break down. The night came soon, but I knew that the entire town probably knew by now. The stress of losing Saphira took its toll, and I soon fell into a restless sleep.

I woke to a chanting outside, at least 15 voices saying the same thing, "down with the killer, down with the killer," They kept repeating it, over and over and over. Then I smelled the smoke. I looked out my window, and saw some of the older ponies torching the house, burning it from the outside. The flames licked up the side of the wall, consuming the house. I watched in horror as within seconds, the flames reached my window. I wasted no time turning, and bolting out the door. My parents left their room a second later, and saw me. My father ran past me, and shoved me back into my flame-infested room trying to get to the front door, and launched himself down the steps. My mother ran the other way, jumping out of a window at the end of the hall, taking her chances with the two-story drop. I stayed there, in shock, coughing as the smoke entered my lungs. Being part dragon, it did not harm me, but it tasted horrible. As if it would help, I started spitting, trying to get rid of the taste of burnt wood. The flames licked my legs, and began traveling up them. They did not catch fire, but that didn't matter because it was still burning me, and the roof was collapsing.

Two large beams landed on me, knocking me over and causing my legs to give a sickening crunch. With a burst of adrenaline, I lifted myself up, just to trip and fall back down on top of some broken glass. Two large shards pierced my back legs, and gave them deep cuts. Many smaller pieces cut up my front legs, causing blood to seep everywhere. Suddenly, my dragon side seemed to kick in. Black scales appeared on my neck, underside, and upper legs, as to protect them. It was new, but I wasn't worried about my new power. Faster than anypony could ever even attempt, I grabbed my saddlebags, stuck a few things into them, and set them in place. I spread my draconic wings, and launched myself through the failing roof, just in time to see my entire house collapse beneath me. I flew off before anypony saw, leaving the smoldering remains of my home behind.

I landed some 50 yards away, behind a statue of the 3 founders of the town. I slumped over, letting my saddlebags fall to the side. The scales disappeared, along with my wings. I gave a grunt as I magically pulled the glass out of my legs, leaving large cuts in my legs. I turned my head and breathed my white flame over them, soothing the burns as well. Sadly, as the wounds closed, scars appeared over the cuts, and the burns left scars beside them, running up my legs in a flame pattern. Left as a painful reminder of what had just happened. I sighed, and pulled up my bags to see what I had grabbed. It was instinct that made me get them, so I wasn't sure of what was inside. What I found amazed me. There were only a few things; a picture of me and Saphira in a boat, my personal wealth of bits held in a large leather bag, and something I didn't recognize. It was a book on Dragon powers, abilities, and society. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, having never seen it before. I looked to the sky, and saw an outline of something large fly through the sky.

"Looks like I got something looking out for me." I said, aloud. I was about to close my saddlebag, when I heard something jingle. I was confused, as there was nothing left in there. I opened it back up, and my eyes widened. There, where it wasn't there before, was the white gold necklace with Saphira's cutie mark on it. I let a tear fall. I opened the clasp at the back, and put it on.

_I will honor her memory._

**A week later, city hall**

I was laying down on my bed in the city hall, reading the dragon book. I recently learned that my father hadn't survived the fire. Debris crushed him just in front of the door. The mayor, as much as she didn't like it, the mayor had to say that what the radicals did to our home was unreasonable, and she regrettably gave us a room in the hall as a home while a new house was being found. My mother walked into the room, repeating things that she said a hundred times,

"It's all your fault he died! If you weren't in the way, he would have _survived_!" She always stressed the last word.

I gave up on trying to reason with her. I sighed, putting the book away before she saw it. She didn't know about it, and I wanted to keep it that way. I got up, and put my stuff in my saddlebags. I didn't trust her with any of it, there's no telling what she would do with it. I still wore the necklace, never taking it off. I walked out of the building.

I trotted out, walking towards the bridge. I walked under it without anypony seeing, and sat down. I opened the book again, and went back to the page I was on, and read;

_Along with their normal flame, a dragon can have multiple types of magical fires. Most have around 5, but special dragons can have an unknown amount. The most documented in a single dragon has ever had was 47, but before he died he said that he had many more than that. That dragon had been breed from royalty though, so he had the near perfect genes for the number of flames he had. No other had had quite that many, but types very. There have been healing, explosive, transporting, and cold flames, but that is just a small percentage that is possible. A dragon is born with his first five, but he/she must unlock them on their own. It is also possible for any dragon to learn certain fires, such as smithing flames, used to shape metal, or enchanting metal, used to add enchantments to weapons or armor. Each fire also has its own color. The darker the flame, the more dangerous it is. The only known exception is black fire, as it does not harm the body. It only makes the body believe there is a large amount of pain. A black flame is rare though, so many will not have to deal with it in their lifetime._

"Multiple flames, huh?" I whispered, wondering how many other types I have. I continued reading for another few hours in the seemingly endless book of dragon knowledge, before I realized it was getting late. With a sigh, I put the book back in the saddlebag, and lifted myself out from under the bridge. I walked back to the hall, ready to face my mother, then ever-so-inviting sleep.

I got to our room on the second floor, and instantly knew something was wrong. As I was part dragon, I had heightened senses, and I didn't hear the normal breathing of my mother, who never left city hall. No, I heard something different, a creaking sound, ominously waiting for me to see what was creating the sound. With a gulp, I opened the door, and felt nothing but shock. There was my mother, tied by a rope around her neck, to the ceiling. The strain her weight was putting on the white ceiling was creating the creaking, which now sounded more like cruel laughter. I did nothing but stare in horror as her body continued to sway in the non-existent breeze. I could take it no more as I tore my gaze away from her, galloping out of the City Hall, away from the town, into the woods, carrying nothing but the dragon book, a sack of around 250 bits, the picture of Saphira and me, her necklace around my neck, and my knowledge of the wilderness, and the world.

**A/N Hey Guys, it's me, Moonlight Gamer. I think this a great introduction into my new story. I will take OC's, but only if they're original, creative, and can fit into my story. Also, review! I will take any sort of critique you have, good or bad. I want to improve, and I need you guys to do that. If you have any questions, I can and will answer them in the author's note. Stay a Boss, Moonlight Gamer –End A/N**


	2. Not Alone

**A/N- What's up? Moonlight Gamer here, ready to give this chapter! Sorry for the long wait, but life happens. Now, do you have friends? Of course you do! Tell them to read this story, will ya? If you do, I'll give you a cookie, for every friend you tell! Shameless self promoting FOR THE WIN! And in case you were wondering, Moonlight is about 4 years older than the CMC (I base their age rate of ours. I would think the CMC to be around 8-10, and the mane six to be from 16-18). Stay a Boss, Moonlight Gamer! –end A/N**

**A week Later, in the forest (Moonlight P.O.V)**

I was under a tree in mid-afternoon, reading the mysterious book I obtained a few days ago, after the fire. I learned that if I will it, then the book will go to where I wanted it to, and will even change the book I was reading to fit my needs. I was currently reading about the Great Dragon Migration;

_The Great Dragon Migration happens once a Generation. Many Dragons travel in a large pack, gaining more and more until there are around a thousand dragons. Even while in the air though, dragons will fight. The battle is more like a duel of sorts, with unspoken rules, such as the loser must leave the migration, and younger dragons- adolescent and younger- are not allowed to fight older dragons. As such, there are much fewer dragons at the final stop then there may have been 100 miles back. The final point of the migration is known as the draconic pits, a rocky area with pools of lava and an untold number of gems beneath the surface of the rocks. Surrounding the area are rich forests similar to the Everfree forest, riddled with timber wolves, manticores, and the rare phoenix. Often times, Dragons will-_

I stopped reading when I heard whimpering off to my right. Never being one to simply ignore something, I shut the book and put it into my saddlebags. I got up, and slowly walked over to where the noise was coming from. I hid behind a bush around ten feet away from the source, and peeked through.

There were two beasts, one much smaller than the other, in a small clearing. The larger was a mix between multiple creatures, the front of it was brownish, with two heads, one was a tan- colored lion and one was a white ram. Both had dark yellow eyes, but the lion's left eye was pitch black, looking demonic. It had claws for its front two legs, and it's back half was a sickly green, with hooves for hind legs. Its tail was a snake, with long, sharp fangs literally dripping with dark green venom. It held similar eyes. The smaller was similar, but with only one head; an off-white ram. It also had a snake for a tail, but obviously not nearly as venomous. They both had vibrant, yellow eyes, but the snake's were large and round, unfeeling, while the actual creatures were just as large, but fearful. It had small scratches running across its underbelly, three bloody scratches on its chest, and one larger gash running down the length of its back .The larger was in a threatening stance, and the smaller was crouching, while slowly backing away. It looked like the larger was attacking the smaller.

I wasted no time jumping out from the bush, and giving a threatening growl. As it turned, I launched myself at it and rammed into the creature from the side. It flew back about 15 feet, even though it was three times as big as me. It got up, and stared at me with anger. It rushed at me, when I jumped into the air and flew behind, revealing my wings and startling the beast. I bucked one of its back legs, breaking it. The beast turned and growled at me, before turning and hopping away on its other three legs.

"Yeah, that'll show you to mess with me!" I yelled at the fleeing beast. I turned to the smaller beast. "Hey, are you okay? Don't worry, I won't hurt you." It crouched down, but didn't move. I took a tentative step towards it, and it didn't move. I crouched down to eye-level with it, and crawled forward. "It's okay. You're safe now." It gave a few small steps towards me.

"Th-Thank you…" I heard it say, before running off.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Hold on!" But it was no use. For an injured creature, it moved fast. I sighed; and slumped down a nearby tree, fiddling with my necklace with Saphira's cutie mark. _What was that creature? _I thought, before looking at my saddlebags, pulling out my magic book. _I hope this works_

I pictured the creature in my head, as well as my memory would allow. I felt the book grow warm, and when I looked at it again, it was on what I needed. I looked at the book title, 'Creatures of lore and myth'. I read the page it sent me to, which had a picture similar to the creature I just saw:

_Chimera's are often thought of as one the strangest creatures ever thought of. They are parts of multiple different animals including rams, lions, and snakes. Their tail is always a live venomous snake, their poison growing stronger as the beast ages. They are born with the head of either a ram or lion, and grow the second one later. Rarely, the second head will not grow in. If such a thing happens, the mother will see the child as a runt, and attempt to kill it. These creatures are so rare; they are often viewed as myths, creatures that are not real. But they are real, even with only a handful of the creatures left._

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why I could understand it…" I say, before the book changes again, back into the original book I found,

_Creatures of the dragon bloodline are often able to speak to other creatures. This only applies to the darker side of the biosphere though, as they are only able to speak with more evil creatures, at least the more commonly evil creatures. A nice manticore? You could still understand it. But an evil bunny? No chance._

"Huh, that's… actually quite helpful." I said with a shrug. I retuned the book to my saddlebags and got up. I stretched my wings and flew around 30 feet above the tree line. _Now, if I can remember, there should be a town… aha! _I thought as I saw a village to the north, a few miles away. I began flying at a leisurely pace, before I saw noticed the sun near the horizon. _Wow, when did it get so dark? I didn't even notice._

_An hour later, the town._

I walked up to the small town quietly. There was a sign that read 'Oatsburg'. I put my wings away about half a mile back, and walked the rest of the way, so nopony saw them. I passed few ponies, and came across a small building with a sign with a picture of a bed on it. _Must be an inn._

I walked in, and saw a counter almost directly in front of me, with a light green mare behind it. She looked at me, and smiled.

"Why hello there little guy! What are you doing here without parents?" I sighed.

"Doesn't matter. Can I get a room for the night?"

"Why do you need a room? You can just go home. Do you want me to walk you there?" She moved to get on the other side of the counter, but I stopped her.

"Do you want to walk a few dozen miles to a burned down house in a town where I was framed and am currently considered a wanted fugitive?" I pulled out my bag of bits. "Now how much?"

"Umm…10… bits a night?" She said, confusion evident on her face. I dropped the bits on the counter and she gave me the key. "Have a nice night."

I walked up the stairs to the left and pulled out my book. "Show me Oatsburg, Equestria." I whispered. The book flipped, and showed me a map. Apparently, Oatsburg was near the edge of Equestria, a few hundred miles south of Canterlot. Before I could start reading though, I bumped into something. I looked up, and saw a dark brown earth pony stallion with short black hair. The stallion had an open book and a quill as a cutie mark. He looked at me, and then gasped.

"Y-Your eyes! What's wrong with them?" He asked, shocked.

"I was born with them. Why?" I responded. He started backing away.

"And your teeth! T-They're so sharp! You… you're a monster!" He turned and ran.

"Wait! I'm not a…" but he was gone. "Monster…" I sighed, then looked and saw that my room was just ahead of me. _Room 7. Yay._

I walked in and saw a rather simple looking room. Pale brown walls, a small desk with a candle, a bathroom to the left, and a plain bed with white sheets. I looked out a window and saw the sun was just leaving view. _Well, no time for reading, I guess. _I jumped into the bed and got comfortable in the thick comforter. Soon, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

_The next morning_

"Yaaaaaaaawwn!" I yawned, showing my distaste for waking up. I got out of bed, and walked over to the bathroom. Inside, were white walls, grayed in some places with age, a clean, white bathtub, a toilet and sink, both a light blue, for whatever reason. I took care of my basic needs, and walked out, feeling refreshed. I grabbed my saddlebags and walked out the door. I trotted down the stairs and looked to the mare that was behind the counter yesterday, but she wasn't there. I just shrugged it off, and kept going.

I looked in the direction of what looked like a marketplace, and started looking for some good food stalls. Instead though, I saw everyone looking at me, scared. I took a step forward, and some of them took a step back. Another step forward, another step back. I looked in the crowed, and saw the dark brown stallion from yesterday. I sighed.

"Really? You're that scared of a colt that looks different? That's just dumb." I turned and walked towards a white fountain I saw near the center of town. I pulled out a bit, and closed my eyes, and made a wish.

_I wish I had a friend who wasn't afraid of me._

I dropped the coin, leaving it to rest with the other bits left to make a wish. I sat on the edge, watching as the others walk around, giving me and the fountain a wide berth. That's when I heard something. It started as a low thumping, almost inaudible, but it quickly grew in volume until the water in the fountain was vibrating. I saw all the ponies were looking towards the woods where I came from. The only sound I heard was a thumping. Then, I saw it.

A chimera burst from under the canopy, galloping at high speeds, until it was upon the town. It jumped, crashing through the gateway, and landed some 50 feet away, before letting out a deafening roar, literally forcing the nearest stalls to go flying by the sheer force of its voice. It looked around, until it settled its eyes on me, but what unsettled me was the lion. Its left eye was pitch black. It took a step closer to me.

"Dragon-pony, I have hunted you since after our short battle. I followed your unique scent, and it has brought me to you. Now fight me in honorable combat, or I will destroy you, and this village." It said to me, in a deep, gravelly voice.

It's weird, talking to a chimera. You hear growls and such, but you know what they are saying. It's confusing, to say the least. And somehow, I responded in his language.

"You will not harm anypony, beast. I have bested you once, and I will beat you once more. I will end you." And with that, I launched myself at him.

The chimera flinched, startled from my forwardness, but quickly recovered. He lifted his paw, and smashed it against me, sending me into a stall of to the left. I got up, and shook the crushed fruit off of me. I narrowed my eyes, puffed out my cheeks, and shot some of my compressed green flame, hitting the lion's snout. He recoiled in pain, but then stared at me in anger, his snout burned. He charged, but I quickly shot my wings out, and flew up, then nose-dived when the chimera was directly below me, landing on the back of the Ram's head. I held on as tight as I could to the horns as he tried to launch me off. In response, I bit one, and clamped down for dear life.

I must have hit a hairline fracture or something, because after another few seconds, I heard a sickening 'crack', as its horn snapped off, falling to the ground with me still holding on to it. I let go just before it hit the ground, but it still gave a dull thud when it hit the ground. How much did the thing weigh? It didn't matter though, as I watched the beast flail in pain. In shock, it started randomly jumping around, before landing on me, knocking me to the ground. I head a few cracks, and knew it broke more than a few ribs. It lowered its heads to me.

"And now, I will end your pitiful life. Prepare to die." The lion opened its maw, and prepared to bite down, when I heard a scream from off to the side.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Then, a small blur rammed into the side of the lion, and latched onto it with its tail, swinging onto its head. It shoved its paw into the lion's good eye, and bit down on its ear. That's when I got a good look at the small creature.

It was a chimera, with three scratches on its chest, and a long gash running down its back.

The larger chimera howled in pain, and jumped off me, reaching up with its paws to smack the smaller away, but to no avail, as the smaller jumped from the lion head to the goat, biting the thick ears and digging at the eyes. The snake tail was batting away the larger beasts whenever it tried to get close. Finally, the larger rolled onto it's back, in an attempt to squish the smaller attacker, but it jumped off just in time. It ran around while the larger was getting up, and bit the base of his snake tail. Hard. The larger's eyes went wide, blood seeping out, as his tail fell off.

Blood was gushing out of the wound, in a thick river. The beast took a few wobbly steps, then collapsed, dead.

The small chimera took a step towards the fallen beast, and spat on it.

"You deserve no respect in your dishonorable death. May you rot in Tartarus for eternity." Then he collapsed, also.

I blinked, then ran over to the chimera. I put my head to his chest. _He's breathing. Good, now we need to get him medical attention. He must've collapsed from fatigue._ I lifted him by the scruff of his neck, and placed him on my back. I started trotting towards the fountain, to be stopped by a mob of ponies.

"How did you do that?"

Who 's that little guy?"

"How did he beat him like that?"

Before they could continue with their onslaught of questions, I sighed and flew over them. Sadly, a few of them were pegasi, and followed us. I started speeding up, and they stopped following me. So I landed on top of what seemed like a city hall. I leaned over, and let the little guy roll off. He curled up when he landed, like he was sleeping peacefully. I leaned down, and gave him a quick flare of my white flame, to heal him, before and laid down next to him, allowing my advanced self-healing take hold of my own wounds during my own deep, dreamless sleep.

I woke up to two large, yellow round eyes staring at me.

"Gah!" I got up, startled. It's eyes followed me. Then I remembered what happened no more than a few hours ago. "You…you're the chimera from a few days ago." I said, stating the obvious.

"And you're the pony-dragon that saved me those few days ago." He replied. "Thank you for that." He looked down though, looking ashamed.

"Why do you look upset?"

"Was it okay? For me to kill him, I mean?"

"Well, sometimes you have to. It had to be done, and there was no other way. You did the right thing, so cheer up." And so, he looked up at me with a new smile.

"Thank you. Anyways, who are you?"

"Me? I'm Moonlight. And how can you tell I'm part dragon?"

"You have the eyes and teeth. And you have your wings." Nodding towards the parts he named off.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those. And who are you?"

I… don't have a name. I was never given one." He looked down again.

I thought for a moment. "Well, you can't be running around without a name, can you? Do you have anything that you would like to be called?"

"Well, I have this one name. Salamance. I can't remember where I heard it though. And if it's too long, then you can just call me Salam or Sal."

"Hmm, I like it. Sounds cool and brave, like you. Now, why don't we get down from here and check to see if they cleaned up that mess yet?"

He nodded with a smile plastered on his face, and jumped up on my back. I spread my wings, and headed towards the marketplace where the showdown took place. After about 5 minutes, we reached the area, and took a look to see the area completely clean, with no signs of the battle. Even the stalls were fixed. So I landed to ask how the area got clean so fast. I walked up to a blue mare with a basket of carrots.

"Excuse me ma'am, but how did this place get cleaned so fast?"

"It was easy. We have some of the best cleaning po- OH! It's you! The two that stopped the chimera!"

She started rattling off questions, attracting the attention of random bystanders, who started crowding and asking questions too. Salam shrunk down on my back, and I swear there was a vein popping out of my forehead from pure annoyance.

"Will you all please SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!?" With that, they all turned quiet. "Now, can someone tell me where the dead chimera is now?" the blue mare gulped.

"Um, it's in town hall right now." I nodded, spreading my wings.

"Thank you. And with that, I was in the air, heading back. I reached the door of the large white building which had a royal chariot out front. I walked in, and was greeted with the smell of early decay, and a royal guard talking to the brown pony from earlier who called me a monster, who was across a dark brown table.

"Mayor, you must hand this creature over to the royal guard. It is a rare and endangered species, and we need to study it. It could help Equestria greatly in the future." Said the Guard, in a deep, masculine voice. The Mayor learned forward.

"That may be true, but I am waiting for a certain pony to come by. He's the one who- Oh! There he is!" He said, noticing me. "Young colt, come here for a moment, will you?" I came up to the table, between the guard and the mayor.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to say I am sorry for calling you a monster earlier and- oh no! Watch out, another one of the beasts! Kill it! Kill it with fire!" He exclaimed, just now noticing Salam, who had been half-hidden by my mane.

"Whoa! Calm down, this one's a good guy! He's the one who finished off the other chimera!"

The stallion blinked, the attempted to regain his composure. "Oh. Yes of course. I'm sorry about that. Now, as I was saying, I wanted to thank you, and allow you to take something from the beast; anything. The spoils of war, if you will." He said, smiling. I looked at the guard, then back at him.

"Why not? Where is the chimera?" I said. The stallion nodded towards a door to the right.

When I opened the door, I was hit by a wall of stench. Salamance jumped off my back.

"There he is, my father." I looked at him, incredulously.

"THAT was your father!?" He nodded, and circled him. I followed, until I reached his decapitated horn. I lifted it with my magic.

"This is cool. And made of something really hard. This is a keeper. I placed it in my saddle bags, and it seemed much lighter than it should have been.

"Why is this horn so light? Before, it was heavy enough to put a dent in the ground. Salam looked up at me.

"Simple. You see, when attached to a chimera, it magically weighs more. I don't know why, but it's how it works."I blinked, then shook my head. Then I came to the lion's head, and I looked at the demonic eye. And for whatever reason, it was white now.

"Huh. I think I will take this too." I used my magic to grasp it, and pulled, and it popped out with a 'shlick'. I looked it over. It was smooth, about the size of a softball, and had a smooth texture, like marble.

"I think this is it." I said, as I walked out of the room, back to the guard and the mayor. "This is all I need."

The mayor took a quick glance at what I was carrying. "If you don't mind me asking, why these items?"

"The horn seems to be really cool, and useful. And the eye, well, I'm not sure. It just seems really cool. It could be magical."

The Guard shrugged. "As long as we get the body. Have a nice day, mayor." He looked at me. "And to you to, Moonlight." He picked the beast up with his magic, and carried it out to the chariot out front. "Be Safe." And with that, he was of. I turned to the mayor.

"I think I'm going to get going." He nodded.

"I get it. Well, be safe. And thank you again, for saving our village."

I smiled, and started trotting. When I reached the Gate though, I remembered who was hiding in my mane. "Hey Salamance?"

He poked his head out. "Yeah?"

"The forest is right over there. Are you going to go back?" He jumped out of my mane, and and looked away.

"Well, I don't really…" I chuckled and looked back at him.

"You don't want to go back, do you? You want to stay with me."

He looked at me. "Yeah… If that's okay…" I chuckled again.

"Hop in." He smiled, and jumped back in my mane. "And now, were off!" I said, And we were off, new spoils in our saddlebags and a new adventure to be a part of.


End file.
